1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a hand labeler, and more particularly to a printing device usable with the hand labeler for printing a label, preferably with bar codes which can be read out by an optical reader.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Recently, POS (Point-of-Sale) scanning systems utilizing electronic computers have been reliably used in large supermarkets. These POS scanning systems use bar codes for information indication. The bar codes, for example, those adopted as UPC symbol marks by the Association of U.S. Supermarkets, are made up of dark bars and light spaces. A printing device for a bar code system generally includes a plurality of bar code rings. Each ring has on its outer periphery the bar code types. It may also carry numeral types and index character types corresponding to the bar code types. The numeral types and index characters are usually arranged at both sides of the bar code types. Moreover, although the index characters are slightly depressed or idented from the surfaces of the bar code types and the numeral types, they are often stained with ink when an inking roller is rolled over the bar code types. This occurs because the inking roller is made of an elastic material, for example, sponge which is brought into contact not only with the bar code types, but also with the index characters. Thus, an operator often cannot easily read the stained index characters correctly.